Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Recruiting Update: May 5, 2015

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Today's recruiting update includes 2017, 2018, and 2019 prospects. Because of the plethora of offers extended over the past week, I had to make the 2016 update a separate post yesterday (LINK). This may happen more often with the Wolverines offering players at a faster rate than the previous regimes.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Fort Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage running back Kyshaun Bryan was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'11", 185 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, and Ohio State, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #8 running back, and #68 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he had 825 yards rushing, averaged 8.4 yards/carry, and scored 7 touchdowns. Bryan is a speedy back with good cutting ability and vision. American Heritage is a football powerhouse, and they sent numerous plays to the FBS in 2015, including defensive back Tarvarus McFadden (Florida State) and quarterback Torrance Gibson (Ohio State). Two of his 2017 classmates also picked up offers from Michigan in Kai-Leon Herbert and Tedarrell Slaton (see below).

Holmdel (NJ) St. John Vianney offensive tackle Micah Clark was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 265 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Penn State, and Rutgers, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #9 offensive tackle, and #69 overall. Clark is a pretty lanky kid right now who could probably be a strongside end or defensive tackle if he worked on his body and technique properly. As things stand, it looks like he will probably be a left tackle in the future. Penn State leads right now, but Alabama and Michigan just came in recently, so he might let things play out for a while before deciding.

Cypress (TX) Cy-Fair offensive tackle Austin Deculus was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 275 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Illinois, and Texas Tech. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #16 offensive tackle, and #98 overall. Deculus is a powerful blocker who has the ability to stay low and blow people off the ball. His classmate, tight end Brock Wright, picked up an offer from Michigan a couple weeks ago. Both attend the alma mater of former Michigan running back Sam McGuffie.

Hit the jump for several more new offers and some miscellaneous bits.
Cleveland Heights (OH) Cleveland Heights wide receiver Jaylen Harris was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 210 lb. prospect with an offer from Kentucky. Harris has a long frame and decent speed, but he needs to work on becoming a more natural pass catcher. He is still early in his recruitment, but Ohio State is thought to be the front-runner if they offer. Cleveland is very pro-Buckeye and tough to pull from, but without any elite prospects the past few years, the last time the Buckeyes got someone from the school was in 2012 with offensive lineman Kyle Dodson.

Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cardinal Gibbons wide receiver Leroy Henley was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'2", 175 lb. prospect with offers from Cal, Miami, Rutgers, and West Virginia, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #41 wide receiver, and #250 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he caught 52 passes for 740 yards and 9 touchdowns. For being such a young guy, Henley is a very adept route runner with good hands and speed. I would not be surprised to see him move up in the rankings.

Fort Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert was offered by Michigan. A teammate of Bryan's (see above), Herbert is 6'4", 260 lbs. and also holds offers from Cal, Maryland, and Michigan. Herbert is very raw with his footwork and technique, but the athleticism is apparent and he can be dominant when he wants to be. There are occasions in his highlights where smaller guys overpower him because of his lack of technique, so he has a lot of work to do.

Phoenix (AZ) North Canyon offensive tackle Austin Jackson was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 260 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona State, Utah, and Washington, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #5 offensive tackle, and #33 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he had 27 pancakes on offense; he added 56 tackles and 5 sacks on defense. Jackson has good athleticism and pretty solid technique, though he is clearly more refined on offense than defense.

Gilbert (AZ) Highland "wide receiver" Tyler Johnson was offered by Michigan. Listed at 6'4", 245 lbs., he has offers from Arizona and Arizona State, too. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #6 tight end, and #253 overall. Johnson plays wideout for his high school team, but he is more likely to play tight end or maybe defensive end in college. He shows some very good athleticism for his size, can high-point the ball, and can outrun a lot of his opponents.

Scottsdale (AZ) Saguaro offensive guard Kayden Lyles was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 290 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and UCLA, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #3 offensive guard, and #167 overall. Lyles plays right tackle for his high school team, but he probably does not have the feet to remain at tackle in college. His teammate is 2016 cornerback Byron Murphy, who also received an offer from Michigan last week.

Steubenville (OH) Steubenville tight end Charles Reeves, Jr. was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 230 lb. prospect whose lone offer is from the Wolverines. Somewhat like Tyler Johnson, Reeves is a jumbo receiver who will transition to tight end at the next level. Reeves is long-armed and can high-point the ball (he's also a standout basketball player), and he can probably add another 20 lbs. or so pretty easily.

Denton (TX) Guyer quarterback Shawn Robinson was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 195 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, and USC, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #1 dual-threat quarterback, and #10 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he was 145/238 for 2,799 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions; he also ran for 1,416 yards and 17 touchdowns. He claims a 4.6 forty. The Longhorns are the odds-on favorite for his services, and it would be quite a surprise if he spurned them.

Fort Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage offensive tackle Tedarrell Slaton was offered by Michigan. The teammate of Bryan and Herbert (see above), he's a 6'4", 341 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Miami, and Ole Miss, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 offensive tackle, and #17 overall. Slaton has some bad weight on him right now and can get himself a little overextended. He's either a right tackle or a guard at the next level. He's a good prospect, but I think where 247 Sports has him at #17 overall is probably too high.

Warren (MI) De La Salle running back Allen Stritzinger was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'0", 183 lb. prospect with offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, and some MAC programs. As a sophomore in 2014, he had 244 carries for 1,356 yards and 20 touchdowns; he also caught 9 passes for 238 yards and 1 touchdown. Stritzinger is a speed back (he claims a 4.50 forty) who could also project to wide receiver, cornerback, or safety, although I like him as a running back. He needs to add some weight if he wants to hold up, though. Stritzinger is a teammate of Eric Rogers (the brother of former Michigan cornerback James Rogers) and attends the alma mater of current Wolverines Jack Wangler, Jared Wangler, and Shane Morris.

Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cardinal Gibbons safety Daniel Wright was offered by Michigan. A teammate of Henley's, Wright is a 6'2", 175 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Clemson, LSU, and Miami, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #6 safety, and #115 overall. He claims a 4.48 forty, and despite still being somewhat slim, he packs quite a punch as a tackler. He's the younger brother of safety Major Wright, who attended Florida before getting drafted by the Chicago Bears (he's now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Jacksonville (FL) Bartram Trail quarterback Joey Gatewood was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 206 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, South Carolina, and USC, among others. Gatewood is the first quarterback to be offered by Michigan in the class, but there are lots of rumors that it's only a matter of time before he commits to Florida State. Maxpreps has him completing just 33/73 passes for 362 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception, plus a ground game that included 659 yards and 6 touchdowns (LINK). Regardless of stats, Gatewood carries himself like a senior on the football field, throws a nice ball, and is a pretty good runner.

Jacksonville (FL) Providence wide receiver Will Mallory was offered by Michigan. Mallory is the son of former Michigan linebacker Mike Mallory (which makes him the nephew of now-departed safeties coach Curt Mallory). I have been unable to find highlights or statistics for Mallory except for catching a few touchdown passes for the varsity team during his freshman season. One random tidbit: Providence is the alma mater of Duke basketball player Grayson Allen and former Florida basketball player Patric Young.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2019
Daytona Beach (FL) Warner Christian wide receiver Blake Hinson was offered by Michigan. Hinson is a 6'5", 200 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Miami, and North Carolina. He's the younger brother of 2016 prospect Evan Hinson, who received a Michigan offer at the same time. Blake played varsity this past season against some clearly overmatched players, and while he shows some impressive skills as a receiver, he could easily outgrow the position and turn into a tight end or defensive end at the next level.

MISCELLANEOUS
Pittsburgh (FL) Seton-La Salle safety Paris Ford has a top three that includes Michigan. He says his top school goes back and forth between Penn State and Michigan, although Michigan currently sits second.